The violent death of Renee Good is the tragedy that I feared and that no one wanted to see happen. The fact her death occurred half a country away on the snow-covered streets of Minnesota does not lessen the impact and the sadness surrounding the loss of a mother of three to those of us in California. It is the type of violence and tragedy that I do not want to see repeated here in Santa Barbara County — or anywhere else.
To be clear, my purpose in writing this is to mourn the violence that has occurred and to offer concern for the safety of protesters, immigrants, and law enforcement officers at the local, state, and federal level. I care about all of the above and do not want to see anybody get injured or killed. It is my fear that the militarized and quota-based immigration enforcement actions will heighten fear, anger, and resentment to the point that it will lead to more violence.
It is not my purpose in writing this to pass judgement on whether the shooting in Minnesota that claimed Renee Good’s life was legally justifiable or not (either way it is a tragedy). I do not possess the facts, nor do I have access to the investigative files that would be necessary to make an informed decision.